The best things to do in Sydney this weekend

For people of Islamic faith, Ramadan is the most sacred month of the year. During this time, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. But once the sun sets, iftar begins – a fast-breaking feast that runs late into the night, bringing family and friends together to enjoy an array of rich treats and moreish morsels. RELATED READ: Where to break fast this Ramadan, from iftar buffets to banquets. To coincide with this time of year, Sydney’s popular month-long celebration Lakemba Nights is back. This year’s event will be a little different, and instead of daily markets, Lakemba Nights will be running every Thursday to Sunday from now to March 30, 2025. What time does Lakemba Nights during Ramadan open and close? From 6pm until 2am, Thursday through to Sunday, more than 60 local businesses will transform Lakemba’s Haldon Street into a vibrant, global food bazaar with traditional cuisine from Indonesia, Burma, Pakistan, Lebanon, the Cocos Islands, Syria and more. It’s not only Sydney’s Muslim communities that comes together during Lakemba Nights – people of all backgrounds are welcome to flock to sample the fare of pop-up kitchens and food trucks lining Haldon Street. What started as a single street barbeque back in 2012 has grown into what many consider one of Australia's best places to celebrate the ancient tradition, with last year's event drawing in more than one million people across the month. What kind of food will there be? Break fast with with roti and gentle lentil curries...

Set in Madrid, the narrative action of Song Of First Desire occupies two distinct time frames. In the present day, acerbic twins Luis (Jorge Muriel) and Julia (Kerry Fox) are dealing with the mental decline of their ageing mother, Camelia (Sarah Peirse).  Meanwhile, in 1968, where Spain is under the fascist Franco regime, police commander Carlos (Muriel again) and his wife Carmen (Fox again) find their preparations for their daughter’s wedding disrupted when the latter encounters Margarita (Peirse, and you can see the pattern by now, surely), a woman who seems to know them from the past. “The past” in this case is the play’s third temporal setting: the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939 and the White Terror that followed, in which Franco’s Nationalists enacted bloody purges and reprisals on the Spanish people, replete with mass extrajudicial executions and the torture of suspected dissidents. None of the on-stage action takes place in that period, but everything we see is rooted there – the sins of the past cast a heavy pall over the characters and the substance of the play itself, which deals with generational trauma, family secrets, incest, perversity, colonialism, and the rhyming nature of history, both personal and political. These are familiar themes for acclaimed Australian playwright Andrew Bovell. His 2008 play When the Rain Stopped Falling covers similar territory, and employs a comparably twisty approach to chronology. Song Of First Desire sees Bovell reteaming with...

Can you think of a better post-run reward than a trip to a water park? Now you can sprint straight from the finish line to the wave pool at a first-of-its-kind running event. The Raging Waters Running Festival is making a splash with its inaugural event on Sunday, March 16. Whether you're a seasoned runner, a newbie, or just in it for the water slides, there’s a race for every skill level – choose from a 10, 5k or 2k Family Dash which little runners can join in on. With early park access for spectators, family and friends can come along to cheer you on or get a jumpstart on the fun with the water slides and wave pool opening early.  Just 40 minutes from Sydney, Prospect’s Raging Waters (formerly Wet ‘N’ Wild) is the city’s biggest water park, boasting over 40 slides including a mega wave pool, rainbow waterslides and six-storey-high looping slides. The event kicks off at 7:50am with the 10k, followed by the 5k at 8:15am and the 2k at 8:40am. Runners will loop around the scenic Prospect Reservoir, and free parking is included for ticket holders before road closures begin. Tickets are $118 for the 10k, $88 for the 5k and $68 for the 2k (plus $55 for any spectators or accompanying adults who wish to run with their children). Time Out readers can also score 10 per cent off with the code ‘TIMEOUT10’. Sign up here. 

Henry V (stylized as Henry 5 in this production) is inarguably one of William Shakespeare’s most martial works. First performed somewhere between 1599 and 1605, there’s debate over whether the play is a deliberate act of nationalistic propaganda – certainly, its initial staging came at a time of English military adventurism, particularly in Ireland and against the Spanish. And Shakespeare, who benefited from royal approval from both Elizabeth I and James I, knew which side of the bread his butter was on. It’s always been popular in times of war – Sir Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film adaptation came mere months after the Allied invasion of Normandy, and leans into the stirring patriotism, the blood and the thunder. The text itself is deliciously ambiguous – occasionally frustratingly so in a time when, culturally, audiences demand straight lines and clear demarcations of morality. Kicking off Bell Shakespeare’s 2025 season, this latest production bucks that trend. Former Associate Artistic Director Marion Potts returns to the company after a 15-year absence to direct this carefully concentrated version. It excises many characters and subplots (farewell, Pistol and the lads from the Boar’s Head) and, of course, keeps the sinew-stiffening and blood-summoning speeches, but leans into the cost of war, taking pains to underscore the horrors. It's 1415 or thereabouts, and newly crowned King Henry (newcomer JK Kazzi), having been convinced in a very funny scene of his claim to certain...

Riding into town this March on his white horse is country music star Chris Stapleton. Not only will Sydneysiders delight in his sold-out shows at Qudos Bank Arena, but can also look forward to what may be Australia’s biggest whiskey shout. From Thursday, February 27, Sydney bar Jolene’s – in the CBD's YCK precinct – is shouting nips of liquid gold every day for a month at 8pm. And it's not just any shout. Chris Stapleton’s new Traveller Whiskey has been distilled by the renowned Buffalo Trace Distillery, so you know you’re in for something good.  Catch a free daily tasting while you can, and while you’re at it, sample one of the Traveller cocktails, like the Parachute, Traveller Old Fashioned, and East Kentucky Sweet Tea. If you need something to line the stomach, the pop-up will also be dishing out Traveller tater tots (that's mini hash browns, for us Aussies) with smoky brisket, liquid cheese and whiskey-infused barbecue sauce. How’s that for southern comfort?  There aren’t any promises that Chris will make an appearance, but a little birdie told us to never say never. Find out more about the deal here.

The genre-defying, multi-award-winning, smash-hit Broadway sensation, Hadestown has finally made its way down to Sydneytown – and it’s unlike any musical you’ve ever seen or heard. With industrial steampunk aesthetics, a soulful jazz-folk fusion, and even a comment on our dying world, this is a brave new world for musical theatre. The Down Under debut of Hadestown opened at the Theatre Royal Sydney to a ready-made fanbase. There’s a lot of hype surrounding this show – the Broadway production picked up eight Tony Awards (including Best Musical for 2019) and still plays to packed houses today, and there’s also the highly successful West End production and the North American tour.  An incisive adaptation of the age-old myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Hadestown is the brainchild of indie-folk musician Anaïs Mitchell (with very clear influences from Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, who appeared on the 2010 studio album). It started its life as a song cycle, and then a studio album, and now it’s a fully-formed stage musical with a dedicated international following. Hadestown is a spectacular challenge to what we think a musical is and can be Like many fans, I discovered Hadestown via the studio album and the Broadway recording. With such a strong, atmospheric tone, the music doesn’t even need visuals to shine – featuring everything from chugging vocal sounds, deep growling singing, floating falsettos, muted trombones, a train whistle, and heavy acoustic guitars. Hadestown is the...

The year is 1886, the very first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is being compiled, and four-year-old Esme Nicoll has a front row seat. (Well, she’s hiding under the sorting table.) As her father and his male colleagues decide which words stay and which go, Esme collects the discarded scraps to compile her own, far more magical dictionary. Following a celebrated national tour, which won the hearts of theatre and literature lovers alike, The Dictionary of Lost Words returns to the Sydney stage for a limited season at the Roslyn Packer Theatre. Based on Pip Williams’ award-winning New York Times bestseller, this popular stage adaptation written by Verity Laughton and expertly directed by Jessica Arthur (Grand Horizons, Wonnangatta) has been described in Time Out Sydney's four-star review by critic Jasmine Joyan as “a poetic experience… an astounding performance set during the seismic events of the late 19th and early 20th century, at the height of the women’s suffrage movement and the dawn of World War I”. Arkia Ashraf and Ksenja Logos return to the production from the original 2023 staging, alongside six new performers including rising star Shannen Alyce Quan (Flat Earthers: The Musical) as Esme along with Kathryn Adams, Brian Meegan, Johnny Nasser, James Smith, and Angela Nica Sullen. The story unfolds on Jonathon Oxlade’s “artistic masterpiece” of set design, with a stage-wide bookshelf serving as a marker for changes in setting in place. As Joyan describes it:...

In the mood for a street party? We’ve got good news. City of Sydney’s street party series – aptly named Sydney Streets – is back for 2025, with festival-style street parties popping up across the city for six Saturdays this summer and autumn. Designed to celebrate the local community, Sydney Streets is taking over high streets across the city over the next few months, with the first one transforming Potts Point’s Macleay Street on Saturday, February 15. Kicking off at 11am and running into the night, the events will see the host streets closed to traffic – making space for outdoor dining, roving entertainment and live performance. Following a smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country facilitated by traditional custodians of the land, activities at the various events will range from origami workshops to dog agility, with each event specific to its suburb. Local businesses will be hosting pop-up stalls, with the neighbouring restaurants and shops included in the action. Although the specific businesses and events will vary, Sydneysiders can expect family-friendly fun and music into the night across the board. After the Macleay Street event on Saturday, February 15, Sydney Streets will take over Darlinghurst’s bustling Stanley Street on Saturday, February 22, Harris Street in Pyrmont on March 8, Glebe Point Road on Saturday, March 15, Redfern Street on Saturday, March 29 and Crown Street in Surry Hills on Saturday, April 5. Keen? You can learn more over here.  Stay in the loop:...

It’s summertime in the Harbour City, and you know you can't go wrong with some picnic blankets, antipasto snacks, and live music. Bonus points if there's a sunset and a harbour view involved.  Sunset Sessions – Cockatoo Island's family-friendly outdoor gig series – is back and running every Saturday evening from January 11 to April 5 (except February 8, when the island will be taken over by the Nowhere Festival). A carefully curated line-up of local and not-so-local acts (brought together by Sydney tastemakers The Music & Booze Co) will be playing on the lawn of the Biloela House every Saturday evening, where there will be grazing boxes and refreshments aplenty.  There's a broad range of talents to take in, with artists hailing from all over Australia – with a mix acoustic sets, folk, contemporary and feel-good sounds. Highlights from the line-up so far include First Nations traditional language storyteller Maanyung, sibling doo-wop duo Surely Shirley and etherial physch spaceman Misty Lanes, with more acts still to be announced.You can catch Sunset Sessions on Saturdays from 5.30pm, but get there early when the gates open at 5pm to soak in the atmosphere. Tickets are $35, and children under 12 can attend for free. If you find yourself wanting more of Cockatoo Island’s out-of-this-world views, you can turn your Sunset Session into a sunrise by booking a night at the island’s heritage listed lodgings or the waterfront campground. For the first few events (from January 11...

Perhaps it’s unpatriotic to suggest it, but I’d argue that Australia has produced strikingly few immortal works of art, particularly narrative art. But, we’ll always have Picnic at Hanging Rock – which can make a strong claim for being the most important Australian artistic work of the 20th century, and one that still casts a shadow over the 21st.  The novel by Joan Lindsay first saw the light of day in 1967, but it was Peter Weir’s 1975 film adaptation – a haunting and subtle work and the ne plus ultra of Australian Gothic – that really struck a chord with audiences. This year marks the film’s 50th anniversary, which seems to be the reason behind this haunting new production for Sydney Theatre Company’s 2025 season, the latest of numerous stage adaptations.  STC Resident Director Ian Michael (Constellations, Stolen) and playwright Tom Wright (whose adaptation was first staged by Malthouse Theatre and Black Swan Theatre in 2016) are certainly betting on Picnic at Hanging Rock’s cultural staying power. This Picnic is in no way naturalistic, but it certainly evokes a sense of the uncanny Both Lindsay’s novel and Weir’s film are elliptical and meditative, posing questions rather than offering answers. This production is perhaps more opaque than either, taking an experimental direction that ramps up the themes of horror and suspense. This works a treat in the early movements of the play, keeping the audience off kilter, forcing us to engage with a conceptual realm where time,...